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Dean Norris does double duty on TV

Bill Keveney, USA TODAY
4:54 p.m. EDT July 28, 2013

James 'Big Jim' Rennie (played by Dean Norris) is another enigmatic creation of Stephen King; a character who is equal parts likable and menacing. As we continue tuning in each week to see what transpires 'Under The Dome,' let's take a look at some of King's most terrifying and unforgettable villains through the years. Michael Tackett, CBS

'CARRIE' (1976 film) | Margaret White (played by Piper Laurie) | A Bible-thumping, knife-wielding Mommy dearest, Margaret disapproves of her daughter Carrie going to the prom. As wicked a mother as she is, she might've been on to something (after all, we know how Carrie feels about pig blood). | Memorable line: "Pimples are the Lord's way of chastising you." Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios

'THE SHINING' (1980 film) | Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) | Although the true villain may be the macabre Overlook Hotel, it's hard not to be frightened by Jack's bone-chilling grimace as he goes after his family with an ax. A longtime resident of the hotel, Jack's gradual loss of sanity makes him anything but a dull boy. | Memorable line: "Heeere's Johnny!" AP

'MISERY' (1990 film) | Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) | Annie brings a new meaning to the term "diehard fan" as she rescues her favorite author, injured in a car wreck, only to capture and manipulate him into writing another novel. It's an unsettling performance that earned Bates a best actress Academy Award. | Memorable line: "I put two bullets in my gun. One for me, and one for you. Oh darling, it will be so beautiful." Merrick Morton, Castle Rock

'SALEM'S LOT' (2004 miniseries) | Kurt Barlow (Rutger Hauer) | A vampire with a penchant for antiques, blood is spilled as Barlow recruits some supernatural helpers and taunts a troubled writer (Rob Lowe). Described by King as a modern-day Count Dracula, Barlow is a frequent user of telekinesis -- a power shared by our good friend Carrie White. | Memorable line: "I admire you. Come down for a taste." Frank Ockenfels, Turner Network

That's the verdict from Dean Norris, the man who plays both Breaking Bad's DEA agent and Under the Dome's conniving councilman, and it's one reason he took the role in CBS's Dome (Monday, 10 p.m. ET/PT) after five seasons as Hank.

"There's almost nothing that's similar. Hank has too many morals, it gets in the way, and Big Jim has zero, immoral, amoral, however you want to put it," he says. "Hank (has) an obsession to do the right thing. … And Big Jim will do anything. He'll do whatever it takes. I think he's a reptilian character."

It's a spotlight moment for Norris, 50, a married father of five: Dome, based on Stephen King's novel, is summer's only breakout hit,and AMC's award-winning Bad returns for an eight-episode goodbye Aug. 11.

On the same spring day Norris finished shooting Bad in New Mexico, he jumped on a plane to North Carolina to begin filming Dome. "It was nice to have this other show to go to, because I would have just dwelled on the ending of Breaking Bad," he says. "I just drank a lot on the plane and tried to contemplate that it's all over."

On Bad, Norris has enjoyed Hank's evolution from proud, boastful lawman to weakened gunshot-wound victim to man on a mission after finally figuring out — while sitting on a toilet — brother-in-law Walter White's (Bryan Cranston) role as a drug mastermind at the end of last year's run. (Trivia point: Norris and Cranston first worked together on the 1998 pilot for Pamela Anderson's V.I.P.)

"I love the way they took this big guy and broke him down, both psychologically and physically, and then slowly have him get back and recover and be right about Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito)," another drug kingpin, Norris says. "And now we come to this final revelation (about Walter). "That's his white whale. Now, he's got to go get him. It's just going to be a fun, intense run on these last eight episodes."

Bad creator Vince Gilligan says Norris was perfect for the role, bringing "the right mix of charismatic and authentic and believable and competent and yet also funny. Breaking Bad is obviously a very dark show but we looked for opportunities to put humor into it whenever possible and I think Dean got that from the get-go."

Gilligan thinks of the final eight episodes as "Dean's season. He is wonderful in them and he is also finally able to do that thing that he is so very good at, which is track the bad guy. And now he knows who the bad guy is," he says.

From the supporting role of Hank, Norris moved to one of Dome's leads as a Chester's Mill politician seeking to maintain order amid growing chaos in the domed town while concealing his own involvement in the drug trade and trying to handle his disturbed son.

"At the end of the day, you're going to think he's a bad guy, but in his own mind, he thinks he's the guy to take care of this town," Norris says. "It's a study of megalomania. Some sort of large crisis occurs and instead of being the guy who is the compassionate one, he's the one who decides he's going to make the trains run on time. ... I sparked to it because it's such a juicy role to play."

While some Harvard classmates went into finance and law, Norris, an Indiana native, chose acting. Before Bad, he had a successful career in films such as Little Miss Sunshine and Evan Almighty and guest-starring in such series as CSI, Grey's Anatomy and The West Wing. He often plays cops, military men and other authority figures.

"For me, as soon as I was able to put actor or entertainer on my IRS form and that's what I did for the next 20 years, it was a dream come true," he says.

Bad raised his Hollywood profile. "In the business, Breaking Bad is so well-respected," says Norris, who has roles in upcoming films The Counselor, starring Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender, and The Frozen Ground with Nicolas Cage.

After watching Norris' Bad performance, Dome executive producer Neal Baer says it was obvious he was perfect for Big Jim, who already has killed a minister to cover up his transgressions.

"We knew that Big Jim is a very complex character who is not just good or evil but a mixture of many things," Baer says. "He deeply loves his town and will do anything to save the town, but sometimes his own ego can mix into it as can happen with people who get a little too much power."

Bad has a devout following and solid ratings for cable, yet Dome's audience (13.8 million) is more than three times larger. Now, when fans tell him they love his show, they could be talking about either series.

"It's interesting to go from a critically acclaimed show — other people have said maybe the best show ever made, but it's still a small, intense cable drama — to the biggest network and now one of their biggest shows in terms of ratings. It's a different feel," he said. "I get the sense from producers and executives, they kind of look at you a little bit different. Numbers speak in Hollywood."